Opinion

From Library Staff

A fantastic series for mystery lovers! It's based on the novels by Ann Cleeves about the lonely, work-obsessed, disheveled Chief Inspector Vera Stanhope. Vera barks at and bosses around her team - especially her detective sergeant, Joe , but we grow to like her despite her brusque manner. Set ... Read More »

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We love the entire Vera series. Highly recommend it! It's dry humor, intriguing story lines and great characters keep us coming back for more. Not the typical "who done its" that you can figure out the guilty party half way through.

Loved this series. Patty skypants Vera was mad at Kenny because he went behind her back and gave out info to another cop who wasn't even on the case. A cop who messed up the original case to begin with and withheld info.

This character is so strange off the bat and the first episode so vague and presuming that we wondered if we had missed another previous season. As a lover of all things Brit this was a let down, especially because I loved Shetland by the same author. Did not watch it all.

Absolutely have to have subtitles for this. Kind of a female Columbo with better acting and no goofy Marple-ish or Poirot-ish quirks or tired cinema celebreties. In all the episodes I've watched so far, there has been only one scene that was totally unbelievable (she gets mad at Kenny for being "disloyal"); she is a female leader and she runs her team very well. These stories are solid and, for the most part, they move and don't get bogged down. I just wish there were more episodes to watch.

At a certain point in their careers, it seems that every good actor in the UK appears as the lead in a mystery series, and Brenda Blethyn is no exception. The emphasis is on character study rather than on story. The series is well acted, but unfortunately, the character of Vera is taken too far. I don't know whether it's the direction, the writing, or Ms. Blethyn, but her character is such a mess mentally and physically, I refuse to believe she would be employed by any police force. The bleak, marshy scenery is stunningly photographed.

A fantastic series for mystery lovers! It's based on the novels by Ann Cleeves about the lonely, work-obsessed, disheveled Chief Inspector Vera Stanhope. Vera barks at and bosses around her team - especially her detective sergeant, Joe , but we grow to like her despite her brusque manner. Set in gorgeous Northumberland England, you'll revel in the bucolic scenery and admire the great skill of the award-winning lead actress, Brenda Blethyn. Murders are gritty, writing is good. It's gone on seven seasons as of 2017, so you know it's worth a look!